Rabbi’s Reflections – Sunday, July 21 2024
Shavuah Tov,
“The False Guide of Condemnation” – Part 2
By Jerry Miller
“…how much more shall those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Messiah Yeshua. So then, through the transgression of one, condemnation came to all men; likewise, through the righteousness of on came righteousness of life to all men” (Romans 5:17b-18).
In my last Reflection two weeks ago, I shared about what I call the counterfeit influence that condemnation seeks to bring to our lives. Although we still fall short of the glorious perfection of God’s ways, if we will acknowledge our sin through confession, with a heart of repentance, God’s amazing provision through Yeshua provides for us a forgiveness and cleansing that is life-changing. Condemnation comes from the enemy of our soul and seeks to convince us that God wants nothing to do with us, even though we have confessed our sin to Him. Thus, condemnation is a counterfeit influence, a false guide leaving us separated from God’s presence as we assume He remains displeased with us.
I ended that Reflection with a question, which is, if condemnation is a false guide, what is to be the true guide in our lives? This is not meant to be a trick question. The answer should be obvious to us all. Our true guide for seeing our lives should be the Lord Himself. What God thinks of you and me is the only thing that really matters as we assess our lives. It is our relationship with God that provides a context for us to be learning about Him and His ways. From that place of loving relationship, He leads us through His Word and His Spirit, bringing guidance as well as correction. Of course, God also places people in our lives, using others to give us wise counsel, with input and correction as needed. But as valuable as our human relationships are, our focus here is on receiving from God specifically. We all can be receiving directly from the Lord, as there is so much He is wanting to share with us. He truly wants to lead and guide us every day of our lives.
The problem we can find, though, is that we can make the mistake of continuing to allow condemnation to have a place of influence in our lives. Why? Because honestly, condemnation seems reasonable to us when our focus in on our shortcomings. As a false guide, condemnation will inevitably keep us from receiving from the Lord. When feeling condemned, the natural tendency is to remain at a distance from God, leaving us unable to receive His input and correction, and unable to receive the empowerment we need for living victoriously—an empowerment that can only be experienced in ongoing relationship.
God’s holiness and purity, along with His love and grace, are to give us a true perspective for seeing ourselves clearly and properly evaluating our lives. God’s holiness sets a standard we aspire to, and His love and grace provide an “environment” for us to grow and mature in holiness, even as we still fall short of His glory. We must be learning to see ourselves based on how God sees us, not based on our inevitable shortcomings. How does He see us? If we have put our trust in Yeshua, the Father sees us through Yeshua’s perfect righteousness. What an amazing gift this is!
In seeing ourselves through the righteousness of Yeshua, we are not living in denial or ignoring our sins. But rather, we are seeing ourselves based on the higher truth of our redemption. We are to be seeing ourselves based on the work of God’s grace in us—a grace that brings a redefining to our lives. The entire thrust of the New Covenant in Yeshua revolves around the truth that God has made grace available to humanity, and grace is more powerful than sin. That is why is it now possible for you and me to experience life transformation, in spite of our flaws. Condemnation reverses that, seeking to convince us that our sin is more powerful than grace, but the Word of God tells us otherwise.
In those times when we are tempted with condemnation, even after we have confessed our sin to the Lord, we must remind ourselves that condemnation is a lie—a counterfeit influence. God is faithful and true to His Word. He forgives us and cleanses us so that we might draw near to Him in relationship, drawing from Him the grace we need for moving forward in victory, as those made righteous through the blood of Messiah Yeshua.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
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